There were no thoughts remaining, just an endless sea of greed and hunger. They couldn’t form coherent thoughts any longer.
In that instant, Grey learned three things.
First, the ability that Amunet was about to rely on to try and kill all of them at once was definitely an ability she had gotten from the blood witch tome.
Second, Amunet was certainly correct that she would be able to use a sense of blood to feel them out within the Fog of Chaos. After all, it seemed that while these Dark Kin couldn’t even tell that one of their own had died moments ago, they seemed more than able to sense the wall of bloody energy steadily rising into the air right this moment.
And lastly...
Lord Valdris wasn’t nearly scary enough.
Grey saw the set of sharpened teeth first and heard the growl that followed only second. But long before either, he felt the intention to attack settle in the air as what self control the Dark Kin to his left had broke.
And because of that Grey swung first as though he had read the future itself. A synergy formed between Goblin Warlord Spirit and his mind reading abilities and the former reacted cleanly based on the latter.
Everything flowed like sparkling water and Grey felt a dam break.
—
[Lv5 Goblin Warlord Spirit > Lv6 Goblin Warlord Spirit]
—
The Dark Kin only lunged based on instinct, and it was aiming for Amunet. It didn’t even realize that Grey was standing in front of her until its head poked out from the Fog of Chaos, and by then, it was already in the air and much too late.
Grey cut right through its skull, peeling it back in two to reveal the fleshy pulp of its brain matter.
A jolt of electricity ran through Grey as though something in his body was clicking. He looked down at his crotch and grinned ear to ear.
’You know what, it doesn’t look so bad anymore.’
Even as he was having the thought, Grey pivoted to one side, took a step, and swung down.
Another Dark Kin was cut before they registered what was happening. But the number would definitely increase soon, and the Fog of Chaos was only encroaching further.
It wrapped around them, moving in from all sides as though Esmeralda’s cabin was the last thing it dared to swallow whole.
A third pulse came from Grey’s mind and he spun, slashing out and cutting a Dark Kin’s head off its body from the neck. His blade slid along its shoulders almost as though using it as a guide.
The blood splattered against his mask, making it look even more sinister now than it ever had before.
The rattling of his iron jaw settled in, sparks flying from the side.
A tempest of rotating blood energy coming from Amunet finally reached its peak and she unleashed a shriek.
Tendrils of blood bloomed like the branches of a tree. Her body became the trunk, its bark formed of ruby-like shingles of crimson as the dome of branching arcs grew further and further.
And then they descended.
Chi.
BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.
Grey’s grin could only widen as one Dark Kin after another, still hesitating in the shadows, found themselves skewered. They didn’t even realize they were dying until it was too late.
Over three dozen of them, wiped out in a single instant of time.
But what was even better than that was that a large amount of blood was being pulled up and through the branches, down the trunk, and through to its roots.
If Grey was a betting man, he would probably put some money on the fact that that would help Amunet out with a potential stamina problem.
"How’s your stamina?" Grey quickly asked.
"Not a problem." Amunet replied. "But I can’t move right now."
"Can you attack again?"
"Not while it’s devouring blood. But if I cut it off—."
"Will cutting it off stop you from replenishing the stamina you just lost?"
"Yes."
"Then don’t. Replenish what you have first, then cut it off. I have a feeling the big bad is going to appear soon. He’s probably not as incompetent as these idiots."
"I can use it to charge up a one-time use attack." Amunet suddenly said.
Grey’s gaze flickered and then he nodded. "Alright. How long?"
"Another 30 seconds."
Grey nodded and clenched his teeth. This blood witch legacy really wasn’t meant for one on one battles, was it? No wonder they had been able to kill Esmeralda.
Maybe it was just this one particular set of abilities, but whatever it was, Grey was going to have to cover for her again.
The synergy between the Frilly Pair and Goblin Warlord Spirit made him feel like a god, but even that wasn’t going to be enough to deal with Valdris. That was someone who—.
The darkness parted like a curtain and Grey found himself looking almost straight up.
Maybe it had been due to the distance before, but he hadn’t realized just how... large Valdris was.
Grey’s own head barely came up to his belly button, the other near entire half of the man looming over him like a god. Just a single swipe of those claws would have battered his body into a rain of blood and bone.
Valdris stood there, his black suit and crimson dress shirt looking like they came right out of an Armani catalogue. But it did nothing to stop how gaudy that gold chain around his neck was.
"What a familiar scent of blood." Valdris said almost softly. "So Esmeralda lied to me, you all are related. Her disciples, I presume—."
His words trailed off as his eyes landed on the cabin. And then, in a scene that would have almost been comical if not for the pressure that threatened to crush him to his knees, Valdris’ eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
"... Dead? The Blood Witch... is dead?"
Grey’s blood froze over as Valdris looked straight down... at him.